Case Study: John Charles Trucking Company

A log hauler in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula understands that in order for his trucks to remain on the road moving product, it is critical for the steel racking of his fleet to remain in good condition.

In 2015, John Charles — owner of John Charles Trucking — purchased a new truck and log rack to haul fresh-cut logs to wood processing facilities. Given the extremely harsh winter conditions, John was determined to find a protective coating system that would withstand the seasonal environment and last longer than 1-2 years before starting to deteriorate.

“Each truck is a huge investment,” says Charles. “The log rack takes the majority of the abuse when loading and unloading. Most coatings can’t stand up to that abuse and the harsh winter road salt. If we tend to the deterioration of the log racks or trailers every few years, that’s a lot of downtime and money for the company. For every day we cannot get into the woods, we stand to lose thousands of dollars.”

Not wanting to risk financial lost — or customers who may hire another logger — Charles made the decision to protect his investments from corrosion / wear and tear with coating system comprised of Polyset’s WB HRZS® Primer – developed to protect steel from corrosion in the harshest of environments – and Ply-Guard AS (EPL) Topcoat to match the aesthetics of the truck.

It’s been nearly seven years since the Polyset Coating System was applied to Charles’ trucks and there has been no indication of corrosion or surface rust on Charles’ coated racks.

“Even in areas where the topcoat is slightly damaged from the daily hauling on roads and in the woods, I have not seen corrosion or wear on the metal racks,” says Charles. “All I see is the WB HRZS® primer remaining strong.”